We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land. When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. We set sail from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios. The next day we approached Samos, and the day after that we arrived at Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost —Acts 20:13-16

I didn’t mention this earlier, but you might have noticed that Luke is now writing from a “first person” account. We don’t know when Luke joined Paul and company, but now there are several people who are traveling together.

After a very tearful parting in Troas, Paul’s companions boarded a ship headed for Assos, where they would take Paul on. Paul himself intended to go by land to Assos, a trip of approximately 20 miles. We aren’t told why Paul chose to travel by land, but whatever his reason were, he went by land, and the others (including Luke—notice the “we” in verse 13) sailed to Assos. When Paul boarded ship at Assos, they all sailed to Mitylene, a major city on the island of Lesbos. Their next stop was at an unnamed port on the mainland, opposite the Island of Chios. From there, they sailed to Samos, an island almost directly west of the city of Ephesus. They had chosen to sail on a vessel that didn’t make port in Ephesus because Paul was eager to arrive in Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost. So they sailed past Ephesus and landed at Miletus, 30 miles or so south of Ephesus. From here, Paul would send word to the elders of the church in Ephesus, asking them to meet him in Miletus.